One of the reasons (of many) that I wanted to attend this luxury event in Coronado Island was to take a lesson in making macarons, taught by a French Chef.
Well….. there were some issues with that.
First of all, there was a slight gassy smell coming from the 90 year old oven in the morning when it was fired up. The oven was said to need two hours to warm up, but when it was turned on, it didn't seem right.
I hardly noticed it, even though others were complaining. The home's owner was called and he said not to worry.
So, we went on with our morning.
But it got worse. And worse, and worse.
Stupidly, I went along with ignoring it, just complaining about the smell a bit. I did open windows on a couple floors. This is a 13 bedroom house, so is huge,and the smell was prevalent throughout. Which should have set off alarms in my head. But apparently I am a dumb ass.
Well, eventually, we all decided that waiting for the owner to care enough to handle it wasn't a good idea. The gas company was called, Beth and I went outside for fresh air and to escape explosions. I don't know why everyone didn't evacuate, one person took a nap due to a headache from the gas. If we'd had a lick of sense, we'd have brought her outside, not let her nap!!!
Now, if you are ever anywhere with a gas leak, please be smarter than us. You should LEAVE THE BUILDING. Call the gas co. or fire department from another location. When the technician arrived, he said that a cell phone call could set off a static spark that could ignite the house.
The old oven had given up the ghost, and we were lucky to have not become ghosts ourselves, according the the gas company. The repairman said it was not a matter of "if" but "when" it would have blown up if we had gone on with making cookies.
Yes, I felt dumb as dumb can be for blissfully ignoring the situation and going about my business. I'd like to say I was dizzy from the gas and not making rational decisions, but I'll admit to being plain old careless and stupid and am lucky to be alive.
Well, we lived. The gorgeous house did not blow up. And I learned how to make macarons. Although, the chef insists that all the ingredients must be measured and I am more of an eye baller. She told me, "good luck with that".
Well, I am on a lucky streak, what with being alive and all, so maybe my cookies will be fine.
We couldn't use the oven, and honestly didn't even want to.
I figured the toaster oven should be fine, but the chef said NO, it wouldn't. I figured I'd give it a shot anyway. Some of the cookies weren't as nice as they should have been, but we just piled on tons of extra filling and ate them that way.
They tasted magnificent.
There was one pan load from the toaster oven that looked good though. Very good, I'd say. The chef pointed out that they were a bit brown on top, but I didn't care. I think they are lovely. After all we'd been through that day, I WAS GOING TO HAVE MACARONS and I was going to enjoy them.
Here they are next to our other projects, a crown and a button necklace. I brought some extras to make the necklace and ended up making one long chain of buttons and another, shorter one with some of my rhinestone pieces added. My crown took on a blue bird of happiness theme, and has a lot of extra rhinestoney goodness pieces added to it too.
The kitchen might have been a time bomb, but man it was cool. See those wooden doors? Those are the original, ice box style refrigerators. Still in use. That is the fridge for the house.
This is the butler's pantry, I think.
This door might have been one of my favorite things in the house. Out of soooooo many beautiful things to chose as a fave.
Like this tattered velvet hand rail.
The dainty tile.
The garden trails.
Trees filled with fresh oranges.
Murals in the dining room.
And the chaise lounge in my bedroom suite.
What a lovely suite it was, two bedrooms and a full bath, with cozy beds each topped with a pillow with our names on it.
The house was a mix of comfy, homey furnishings from the family who'd lived there for decades, and antiques. The structure itself seemed to all be original, and the trim work was over the top, especially the dining room ceiling.
But the very, very best part? Interesting new friends to laugh with! And to not die with. I'm glad our headaches and upset stomachs from the gas faded away, not one of us exploded, and we even got to kind of finish one batch of macarons.
Oh. My. Good. Golly! I am so glad everything turned out okay. Your room is gorgeous.
Was this the same house with the dog poop on the stairs? i think i would demand a refund!
It really was quite wonderful there, although the poo was very unexpected, it was hilarious. It was in the private quarters of the home, where we were given permission to go to the attic, but not through the residences up there. It was a five floor home, so the poo was quite out of our areas. But yes, I agree, the owners should refund at least do a partial refund to the hostess for the day of the gas leak. She paid the chef, and we lost a whole day of class, plus were in danger.
Well, Karla, I never thought these words would EVER need to be written, but **I am so glad you and Beth did not die at your art retreat.** Yikes! And isn’t it funny how we can talk ourselves out of acknowledging that something is actually dangerous, and then later wonder what on earth were we thinking!!! Perhaps you now have a new appreciation for life–a benefit one does not ordinarily associate with an art retreat. 🙂
The place really does look pretty, and I am glad you had fun until the *unfortunate* gas leak. I am so glad you managed to salvage the macarons!
True, Linda, its a rare art retreat that turns deadly! Thanks, Im glad we survived too
When we first moved back to California, I was a bit unsettled about having gas appliances, stove, water heater, fireplace, furnace etc. I called the gas company and they sent out a man to check all the appliances to make sure everything was working properly. He explained that the new stoves with the igniter system work more safely than the old ones (blew myself across the kitchen one time lighting the oven in the pilot light era :>(
If the Coronado home wants to keep the vintage look of their kitchen, perhaps a reproduction stove is the answer.
The house is beautiful and it looks like you all had a wonderful time (except the gas leak).
Ah, macarons! Every year Kate and I make macarons and every year we learn something new. But we’ve never done the toaster oven trick or had gas leaks to contend with! Hey, if they come out, they come out. I, too, am glad you did not die!
And all your photos of the house and project, simply lovely!